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NDP 2010 – Remembering Singapore, the NS way.

Whenever someone mentions National Day, the first thing that I think most Singaporeans would think about (other than the fact that everyone’s getting a public holiday) is the lavish National Day Parade or the NDP songs (the latest of which, Song for Singapore by Corrinne May, is lovely, in my opinion, but doesn’t seem terribly appropriate for singing along to during the parade).

However, there are other ways to commemorate the country’s birthday and […] one of the best ways is to reminisce about national service, strange as that sounds.

From what I’ve heard from most guys who have ORDed (and from personal experience), National Service is not something that most guys would want to repeat but the two years themselves (especially the BMT period in the first few months) are often remembered upon with at least a slight tinge of nostalgia.

Watching this video above (which is part of a series produced by NSTV to showcase the lives of a couple of BMT recruits), I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered some of the more outstanding memories from my own time in Tekong. Of course, it also helps that the recruits featured belong to the same company that I was in and that the OC is the same one as the one I had.

I sure didn’t get a gold timing for 2.4km on my very first try (or on any subsequent try, actually) or manage a single pull-up during that first test and some parts of the company look different now (double-decker bunk beds? Non-existent in my time) but seeing what the recruits are going through and in a familiar environment that I’ve been in myself does jog my memory on a time that didn’t seem like it would ever end when I was going through it but which I now look back fondly on.

So, for all you NS men out there (or even those who have not gone in yet and want to get a taste of what you’ll experience), why not take a look at the videos? After all, what better way to foster that patriotic spirit than to revisit the time you spent in service to the nation?

I always complain about the weather and the terrible service and the discourteous, inconsiderate people (especially drivers) we have here but, like I told some friends before, there is still nowhere else I’d want to stay in. The low crime rate, the (sort-of) well-planned transport system, the way things run (no matter how much we can whine about the government, I think they’ve done a pretty decent job), the FOOD and the general familiarity of home is something that’ll keep me here. (Or maybe I’m just allergic to change)

I’m not one of those who wants to immigrate the moment I find the chance. To me, holidays abroad are fine but I’d still pick Singapore as the place I’d want to stay in permanently.

Happy birthday Singapore, and may we get better and better with each passing year!